Warriors' Draymond Green: Knicks owner has 'slave-master mentality'

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green said New York Knicks owner James Dolan used "slave master mentality" when taking issue with Charles Oakley's criticisms and initially banning him from Madison Square Garden.

Green blasted Dolan on his "Dray Day" podcast for Uninterrupted with Bay Area News Group columnist Marcus Thompson

Green said the Knicks benefited from Oakley as a player for many years.

"The man is a legend. Treat him as such," Green said. "First off. This is Charles Oakley. Why is he buying a ticket?

"You doing it for me, it's all good. You doing it against me -- you speaking out against my organization -- it's not good anymore? That's a slave mentality. A slave-master mentality. That's ridiculous.

"It was all fine and dandy when he was laying people out, taking fines and all this stuff for your organization. But now, all of a sudden, when he says something that he feels, it's a problem. I disagree with that. I definitely think, like I said, that that's a slave-master mentality."

Oakley was banned from the team's home games last week following his highly publicized altercation with security, who forcibly removed him from Madison Square Garden during a game. Oakley was arrested and charged with three misdemeanor counts of assault and one misdemeanor count of trespassing.

Oakley's ban from the arena lasted less than a week after it was lifted by the Knicks on Tuesday. His reinstatement came one day after NBA commissioner Adam Silver met with Dolan and Oakley, with Michael Jordan joining by conference call.

Oakley told the New York Post on Saturday following his release from jail that he was minding his own business when team security approached his seat.

Dolan said Oakley was ejected because he was being verbally abusive to security while sitting nearby the owner. After Oakley's arrest, Dolan suggested Oakley might have an alcohol problem, which the former Knicks forward denied and the owner was criticized for making.

"That's not something that you say to the world. That's not classy at all," Green said on his podcast. "It's not OK for you to go say to the world as a multibillion-dollar organization. How can you even pin that on someone? Just throw that out there. That's grimy. I think that's wrong."